Railfuture nationally requires nominations for the posts of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer, Membership
Secretary, Sales Officer and 10 members of the National Executive. Nominations should be sent before 29th
February to John Lee, RDS Administration Officer. For a nomination form contact John Lee on Telephone/Fax
01485 528088 or e-mail john.lee@rdsadmin.freewire.co.uk.
The closing date for objections to the proposed Willington rowing lake, which would sever the old rail
route between Bedford and Sandy/St Neots (needed for the East West Rail Link from East Anglia to Bristol),
has been deferred to 13th February. Objections should be sent to Mr Richard Koller, Development Planning and
Control Manager, Beds CC, County Hall, Cauldwell St, Bedford MK42 9AP. The reference is BC/CM/2003/33. If
e-mailing, send to richard.koller@bedscc.gov.uk and include
your postal address in the message.
Objections to the Translink guided busway scheme, which could destroy the Luton-Dunstable railway line,
should be sent to Secretary of State for Transport, c/o DfT, TWA Orders Unit, Zone 3/11, Gt. Minster House,
76 Marsham Street, London, SW1p 4DR, and must arrive by 9th February. Don't delay!
RAIL FRANCHISES
National Express signs contract with SRA for Greater [East] Anglia franchise
At the end of January, National Express signed a contract with the SRA to operate the Greater Anglia
franchise under the London Eastern Railway name. The SRA hopes that Natinoal Express will return up to £50m
per year in premium payments, which would be help to offset subsidies in other parts of the country.
Improvements to services in the region are minimal, comprising little more than:
* New improved standards for train cleaning, security and passenger information, set as key performance
indicators
* Improvements such as CCTV, help points and ticket machines to over 50 stations by the end of 2005, costing
£11.3m
* Refurbishment of rolling stock on London commuter trains including CCTV and information displays
* Extra carriages on trains to Stansted Airport
* New service between Stansted and Stratford
* Peterborough to Liverpool Street trains via Ipswich, which would give Bury St Edmunds more direct trains
* Newer trains (class 90s and Mark III's) for London to Norwich services by end of 2005
* New academy for employees of franchisee to improve level sof customer service.
Railfuture nationally issued a press release expressing concern that hundreds of millions of pounds paid
by passengers in fares will go to the Government rather than fund local improvements such as an hourly train
service between Ipswich and Cambridge to provide an alternative to the congested A14. Railfuture also asked
the SRA to clarify whether services on the Great Eastern Route between London and Ipswich would be cut and
if inter-city services to Norwich would be making extra stops.
SRA announcement: http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/2004/1/GAF300104
BBC News article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3444103.stm.
SRA invites bids for East Coast franchise
On 29th January the SRA advertised the new franchise for long-distance trains on the East Coast Main Line,
currently operated by GNER. Other than stating that it would be from seven to ten years long, no other
details were given. National Express and Virgin Trains are expected to big. First Group's chief executive
Moir Lockhead has announced that it will be bidding. It is not clear what would happen to Hull Trains, its
own rival service, were First to win the franchise.
SRA announcement: http://www.sra.gov.uk/news/2004/1/ICEC290104
Guardian report: http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,2763,1134778,00.html.
RAIL DEPOTS
Central Trains installs motion-detecting CCTV cameras to monitor carriage sidings
Central Trains have installed a CCTV system that is triggered by motion at some of their carriage sidings.
The system is linked to some local public address speakers so that a "we have seen you, the police have
been informed" announcement is issued if an intruder is detected around the depot. It was installed initially
West Midlands and Boston, but is also being installed at Cambridge and Ely. It is hoped that graffiti and
vandalism will be significantly reduced.
ST.IVES LINE
County Council's cabinet decides to put guided bus to the vote
As expected, on 27th January, Cambridgeshire County Council's cabinet meeting decided to proceed with their
plans for a guided bus on the Cambiidge-St.Ives railway line, and the former Cambridge-Bedford line as far
as Trumpington Park and Ride. It will now be put to a vote of all members on 10th February, and if agreed,
the TWA will be submitted on 19th February. The County Council needs a few days to complete documents and
the lawyers asked for some extra days to ensure that all the information is publicly available for the
start of the 42 day consultation period. The public will be able to purchase 10 CDs for £10 which describe
the scheme in as much detail as Cambridgeshire County Council are able and willing to supply.
CAST.IRON, which wants to reopen the railway line to passenger rail services, intends to mount several
public events, the first of which will be in Cambridge on 27th February, allowing for a few days to read the
TWA documents. Its regular information stalls in Cambridge on Saturdays will continue.
CAST.IRON web-site: http://www.castiron.org.uk.
RAIL ROUTES
Problems with Trowse swing bridge might land Network Rail in deep water
The Broads Authority is threatening legal action against Network Rail for failing to ensure that navigable
bridges at Trowse, Reedham and Somerleyton can open to allow the free passage of vessels. In 2003 owners of
tall craft were unable to get through Trowse swing bridge after Network Rail welded the rail lines together.
However, the authority claims that Network Rail refused to open the bridge to avoid incurring penalties for
delayed trains.
Hope for Beccles loop dashed by SRA owing to lack of funds
A lack of money is the excuse the SRA gave in December 2003 for putting on hold a £600,000 passing loop at
Beccles, which would have enable trains to run hourly from Lowestoft to Ipswich.
RAIL AWARDS
Anglia Railways' public relations team wins award following successful Norwich-Cambridge service launch
The Anglia Railways public relations team has won the 'Best Integrated Campaign' at the East Anglia Institute
of Public Relations Pride Awards 2003/4 for its PR and marketing campaign for the direct Norwich-Cambridge
service prior to launch and through the first year of operation.
Anglia press release: http://www.angliarailways.co.uk/latest-information/news-detail.asp?id=541.
TRAVEL HABITS
Travel to work information issued by Office of National Statistics
The 2001 UK Census measured the distance travelled to work as a straight line from each worker's usual
residence to their workplace. Using these distances, 6.5% of men and 3.0% of women travelled over 40km to
work. Conversely, 25.4% of women worked less than 2km from home, compared to 15.4% of men.
Over 5 per cent of workers travelled more than 60km to get to work in several areas in the South East of
England, including Milton Keynes, which could be served by an East West Rail Link. Around 59% of men drove
to work compared with 51% of women. In 1991 the figures were 62% and 43% respectively.
Railfuture campaigners will not be surprised that women were twice as likely to travel to work by bus than
men. Bus usage by both sexes was lower than in 1991. Only 3.5m workers (15%) use public transport to get to
work, with another 3m going by foot or bicycle. Homeworking has risen from 4.9% in 1991 to 9.2% in 2001,
helped by increased use of computers and reducing in phone costs.
Census News online: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/census_news.asp.
PRESERVED RAILWAYS
Mid-Norfolk Railway completes Dereham station roof renovation and announces mid-week services
At the Mid-Norfolk Railway contractors have completed the roof repairs to Dereham station, including the
renovation of the canopy. The main car park has also been surfaced. The station building, which is being
virtually rebuilt inside, will not be reopened to the public until summer 2004.
The MNR plans four trains a day on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 21st July and 26th August, with the
first train leaving Dereham at 10am. This will be their best ever mid-week service. Weekend services will
remain at three trains a day.
MNR train timetable: http://www.mnr.org.uk/services.
WEB SITES
Advenza Freight Ltd's about-to-launch 'Freightbus' service has details on its web-site
Advenza Freight Ltd, who will be operating a rail freight service to carry any consignment from a single
pallet up to a full train load will be launching on 1st March 2004. Their web-site
http://www.freightbus.com has details. The web-site is fundamental
to the business as it is used by hauliers to book pallet space on-line. and track consignments throughout
the journey.
East London Line Project web-site allows you to register for progress information
The http://www.ellp.co.uk East London Line Project web-site enables you
to subscribe for announcements about progress of the scheme.
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